Archive for the 'Fun FREEBIE Friday' Category

Earlier this week I received an email from Robin, a newsletter reader who has been subscribed for years.

She said that she had upgraded to a new computer and had lost the program that allows you to print whatever is on your screen.

That made me think.

How many of my readers have joined the PlatinumPowerSeller.com Newsletter list within the last year or so and don’t know anything about this awesome program?

PrintKey2000 is what I want to share with you today as the Fun Freebie Friday.

What can PrintKey2000 do?

Take a snapshot of your computer screen. You can choose the entire screen, just an individual window, or define your own area to capture.

Once you capture the screen, you can either print it, copy it the clipboard (So it can be pasted into another document), or save it to to a file. The file can be a BMP, GIF, JPG, ICO, EMF, WMF type.

I use this tool ALL the time. Let me give some examples:

You can use it to take measurements on the screen. Ever see a table or a web page and wonder how many pixels wide it is? Or, maybe you want to measure just a portion of a picture? Select the rectangle function, and click on one of the corners. As you move your mouse around, the program draws a rubber band window which also shows the width and height measured in pixels.

When I notice a spelling error or other problem on one of my web pages, I’ll print a copy to my printer and circle the mistake and write FIX on the paper. Then I put it aside for later.

Quite often I will conference with people using an instant messenger or email. When I need to show them something, I’ll use the rectangle tool to grab the section I need, save it as a JPEG file and then send it to the person. Takes about 30 seconds and saves a ton of time!

Some ebooks lock out the ability to print them. You can use this tool to print out anything you can see on the screen.

You can even capture “snapshots” of an on screen movie or Flash movie file.

The tool is VERY easy to use.

Anytime you want it to grab a snapshot, you simply click the PrtScrn (Print Screen) button on your keyboard. You’ll hear a noise like a camera shutter telling you it captured the screen. (You can turn the sound off if you prefer)

There are a ton of options you can also configure.

The main thing is that the program is easy to use and works great.

I use this tool multiple times everyday. No doubt, you’ll be glad to have it too!

Everyone’s brain is wired differently, so we all have our preferences.

Some people learn well on their own, while many blossom and learn much faster when they have a personal teacher.

Which describes you?

People also have different ways of being motivated to take action.

Some people can buy an ebook, devour it in an hour, and a few hours later have the information in action. Aren’t you jealous!?!

Others thrive when they have someone to answer their questions, get past roadblocks, and TAKE ACTION.

Taking action is the most important part of the equation.

Many people have been collecting information, reading countless ebooks, spending about a gazillion hours on the web trying to figure out how to start your own eBay / online business, but have not made a single penny!

Does that sound like you?

Don’t worry… You’re not alone. It CAN be overwhelming.

I’ve seen that with PlatinumPowerSeller.com. I’ve literally helped tens of thousands of people to start and grow an eBay / Online business through my ebook / CD/ DVD training.

But through countless emails, phone calls, and conversations, I’ve learned that many people need more.

For a few years I’ve wanted to fill that need, but since I like to sleep, be with my family, and cannot figure out a way to cram more then 24 hours in a day, it is impossible for me to personally training more then a handful of people.

I knew I needed to come up with something better, and have been working at it for a while now.

For training to work, the following are very important requirements:

Training has to be tailored to meet each individual’s needs.

Training has to be tailored to meet each individuals business goals.

Selling physical product on eBay is ONLY ONE WAY of creating a successful online business. My trainers can help you do that plus lay down a growth path.

eBay should NOT be your only stream of income. My trainers will help you create additional profit streams of income through the methods that best match you and your circumstances.

This Is NOT For Everyone

Although I have put together a great team, it would be impossible for us to give the time and attention to everyone.

If you are not willing to seriously apply yourself, then this isn’t for you.

How To Find Out If This Training Is For You

If you are willing to invest your time and energy, and apply yourself then this training could be for you.

If you are overwhelmed trying to figure this all out yourself then this training could be for you.

If you want to be able to pick up the phone and have a personal member of your team quickly answer your question instead of spending many pain staking hours searching on your own then this training could be for you.

Are you ready to succeed?

Then go check out MikeEnosCoaching.com and see how you can schedule a no charge, no obligation interview with one of my specialists. We’ll discuss your needs, goals, circumstances, business desires, and answer all your questions.

ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s available for all AuctionTNT members. (AuctionTNT is currently offering a FREE Silver membership.)

You can use it in your existing eBay ads, or on any other website or HTML page.

Coming Soon: We’re just finishing up adding a new feature! Soon you’ll be able to also include items from your eBay store in your Auction Showcase. This is a FANTASTIC way to get traffic to your eBay store from other auction / web pages. Target release date is Friday, 03/14/2008

Easy Shortcut Link To Your eBay Auctions

Ever wanted to send people to see all of your current eBay auctions and eBay Store items?

In the past you had to click on a bunch of eBay links and jump through hoops to find the information, but not anymore!

Simply tell people to visit YourEbayID.AuctionTNT.com. So if your eBay ID is WidgetMan, tell everyone to see your current items for sale at WidgetMan.AuctionTNT.com(It’s NOT necessary to add an http or www)

What could be easier?

Here are a just few ways to generate more traffic using this shortcut:

On the bottom of each email include a signature line that says something like: “See all my fantastic Widget deals at WidgetMan.AuctionTNT.com”

Print up inexpensive labels and slap them on each item you ship. If it’s a box, place it on the top left side, so it’s easy to see. For envelopes, place it on the back side, on the top middle.

If you do podcasting or make audios / videos, be sure to mention the easy to remember URL address

Not only is this the easiest way to send people to your auctions, but Gold & Platinum members will also have the opportunity for affiliate income each time someone visits the page and clicks on YOUR affiliate link to find out more about AuctionTNT!

Wow I think I’ve experienced 2 months worth of life occured during this week!

Everyone here in my area is getting ready this weekend for the Superbowl where the undefeated New England Patriots plan on making New York Giants fans cry themselves to sleep come Sunday night

But what was I thinking???

Not only did I schedule AuctionTNT’s new Digital Shopping Cart to go live today, (which it will later on tonight. Still got some instruction videos to do).

Congratulations to the many people who wisely grabbed their AuctionTNT Gold or Platinum membership last weekend. When you login later Friday night, you’ll see that (3) Resell rights products have been added to your Digital Shopping Cart!

The Big News!

FINALLY … After nearly 2 years of research, testing, and a boatload of work….

Judging by all the phone calls, emails, BLOG comments, etc.. the buzz about this is immense!

I JUST finished the final Sneak Peek Video #4 entitled “How To Get A 95.2% Conversion Rate”. Yep, you read that right! The video explains a concept which probably is 180 degrees opposite to what you’ve always heard in the past.

Yeah… of course it’s trying to get you to grab your own copy of Auction Traffic SECRETS, (which by the way you’re NUTS if you don’t go TODAY HINT..HINT..HINT) but you’ll learn a marketing concept in this four minute video that will simply amaze you. You’ve NEVER heard this before!

Seriously… Auction Traffic SECRETS will ONLY be available until Monday, February 4th.

WARNING! Don’t Come Crying To Me Tuesday Morning, Because It Will Simply Be Too Late!

eBay’s BIG Changes.

Did you hear about eBay’s big changes announced on Tuesday?

I was invited to discuss the impact of these changes on eBay sellers on eBay Radio PowerSeller Show with eBay’s Dean of Education, Griff and Jeff King, a Senior Director at eBay. You can catch the radio show here.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a real newsletter. There is so much going on in right now, that I’ve been spread a little too thin.

No doubt you’re experiencing that too!

Can you believe it’s already the end of another year?!? Ack… time flies…

2008 is going to be an exciting and interesting year. Hopefully, you can make it a great year!

It seems that late December / early January is a time to reflect on the year just ending, and the new one beginning. It’s also a great time to take inventory on our life and perhaps make a little course direction.

It’s also a good time to be thankful for what we have, and acknowledge that things could always be worse.

A Personal Note

I don’t normally share much of my personal life here. There are a few reasons:

1) I’m a very private person, and 2) That’s not the purpose of your subscribing to my newsletter and visiting here.

Still, I wanted to take a few paragraphs of time to explain something that I’m grateful for, and that will hopefully motivate you to work hard on your business in 2008. Normally people are motivated to succeed in business so they can buy fancy toys, take fancy trips, and drive fancy cars.

How many sales pages or advertisements have you seen with a picture of a yacht, mansion, red Ferrari, bikini clad woman by a pool, etc…?

Friend, let me tell you… that’s not what having your own business is all about. I know my share of wealthy people who are lost, sad, miserable, and without any moral compass in their life. When your whole life’s purpose is to make and hoard money, you’re in big trouble. Look beyond the photoshopped surface of nearly any celebrity (or lottery winner) and you’ll see what I mean. I like the way the bible at 1 Timothy 6:9,10 states “9 However, those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires, which plunge men into destruction and ruin. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.”

Many people say the bible says that Money Is Evil, that’s not what it says.

Note, the “good book” says LOVE of money. The bible even calls money a protection. At Ecclesiastes 7:12 it says: “For wisdom is for a protection [the same as] money is for a protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners.”

So, what’s the point?

If you have been spent 2007 (and previous years) focusing and measuring success solely by how much money you’re making, then you are on slippery sand, and are probably doomed for failure.

Think about it… Do you know ANYONE who has worked hard to make a lot of money, perhaps reaching their goal of becoming a millionaire say: “Hey, cool I’ve made a million bucks, I’m content with that. Now I’m gonna focus on putting it to good use, and helping others.”?

Hmm…. probably not. It’s usually more like “Ok.. I made $1,000,000, how do I make $5,000,000?”.

Especially here in the USA, that’s the stereotypical viewpoint of money. “More is better, and you can never have enough!”

Now granted, it may be hard to be honest with yourself and admit that you have this viewpoint too.

Yet, if that sounds like your mindset, why not try doing something different in 2008.

Instead of having a goal of making money, how about viewing money as a tool that allows you to accomplish something to help your family and help others? It’s called having a purpose. Some use the term “having a calling”.

I’m personally thankful that I have a home based business for a multitude of reasons. In the past (in a previous life I used to leave the house at 6am and not get home until 6pm. If you’re doing that right now to put food on the table and put a roof over your family’s head, then you’re awesome, and your family owes you a big kiss & hug each day!

Everyday I count my blessings that both my wife and I can be at home with our kids as a family unit. She doesn’t have to work a “J-O-B” outside the home (although she does spends a good deal of time doing VOLUNTEER work outside the home)

Another reason I am grateful is that I have the freedom of schedule to help my Dad. He is dealing with very bad Parkinson’s disease. It is a dreadful illness that slowly robs the victim of his muscle strength and control. Lately, I’ve been spending 15-20 hours a week, during ‘work time’ to bring him to doctor’s visits, therapies, errands, etc…

If I had a regular J-O-B, I would never be able to help him out.

Yes, having money to pay your bills AND having some extra for other items or travel is a wonderful thing.

Yet there is something so much more valuable then money!

That’s right… TIME. You only get so much of it, you can’t buy anymore, and it passes oh so quickly!

Yet, having the freedom to control what you do with this most precious gift, your time, is probably the greatest reason to build your own home based business!

Most people have little freedom over their life. “The Man” tells them when to come to work, and when to leave. For many, “The Man” says when they can take a vacation or time off.

If you have read this far, chances are you want something better for you and your family.

Yet, how do you change your life when you’re already running for what seems like 24 hours a day?

Here are some steps:

1) Have a LONG term goal, but break it up into smaller, more manageable goals.

2) Be consistent. Big things happen by a continous series of small steps. Schedule a non-negotiable time to build your business. It has to be realistic and you’ll need a committment from the rest of the family to make it happen. If you’re thinking: “Where will I find the time?”, then you might cut back on TV watching, Recreation time, or other hobbies. You might need to wake up early (Get yourself a coffee pot with a timer), or go to bed late.

But unless you’ve committed to a LONG term goal, you will be hard pressed to remain consistent.

3) Success online doesn’t usually come from hitting grand-slams or homeruns, rather from a consistent string of singles. In between those singles will be strike-outs. Don’t sweat them! Even a great baseball player only gets on base 33% of the time.

What is FREEDOM to you?

What would YOU do if you had the freedom to control how you spent your time?

Spend a few minutes to visualize what you would do.

Would it be traveling?

Playing with the kids?

Learning to play a musical instrument?

Doing volunteer work?

Writing the next great novel?

Perhaps, it would be not having to worry about paying the bills. Or freedom to know you have enough money to buy the groceries or clothing that your family needs.

Freedom comes in many shapes and form. Choose the flavor that makes your heart soar and your mind determined.

Then make 2008 your year of FREEDOM!

How To Become More Competitive On eBay

In 2007, did you find it hard to make money selling physical product on eBay?

Don’t feel bad if you did, you’re not alone!

As eBay continues to become more competitive, sellers are always wondering… “How Can I Compete?”

Just this morning I received an email on this topic:

“Hello Mike Enos,

I am writing to you to please help me out.

I have been trying to sell on e-bay on and off for 3 years. I like to sell on eBay and want to desperately succeed, and I just can’t seem to get anywhere. The problem I see is I can’t seem to find good quality merchandise low enough to compete with alot of these sellers.

I want to do dropship,but can’t find sources with low enough priced products.

I know you have been there and can you please point me in the right direction?

Look at the competition through the eyes of the potential buyer. If you were looking to buy that item, who would you purchase from? Why? Is it price alone? Does the seller have better support, Bonuses, Instructions, etc..?

What can you add to increase the perceived value of the item? Could you put together an ebook “Getting the most from yoru Widget”? Or better yet, make a video showing how to assemble or use the item? Check out the blog entry below for the FREE Camtasia Video recording tool.

Add your phone number to your auction ads. Better yet, get a toll free number. Having a toll free number immediately gives respect, and makes you look like a much bigger company, not someone selling out of their basement. It’s not that expensive either. The company that I use charges me just 3.9 cents per minute with no setup fees. It’s real cool! You can make the call forward to any phone number, and change it from a web interface at any time. You can send it to your home phone, cellphone, even your Skype-In number. If someone takes the time to call you, chances are they are very interested in that item and PERHAPS MORE ITEMS! Try it in a few auction ads, and watch the difference!

Realize that there are more ways of making money on eBay then just shipping physical product. eBay classified ads are an amazing way of making money (and making residual income) without having to ship a thing. I’ve just finished putting together Auction Traffic SECRETS that shows you exactly how to do this.

Create an information product that you can sell over and over on eBay. Do you have a skill or hobby that you’re very good at, that others would pay to learn? Then make an ebook or video to teach others. There are many people on eBay making a killing selling their own training.

Dropshipping and selling new wholesale merchandise on eBay isn’t as easy as it used to be. You’re competing with bigger comapnies with deeper pockets that are stealing business from the “Moms & Pops”. Hey, that’s just business. If you are going to sell dropshipped and new wholesale products, focus on less popular items, NOT “hot” items.

If you are using a Gallery image in your auction ad, make it stand out. I’m always amazed at how so many sellers do what everyone else is doing so their gallery image blends in. Be sure to do the opposite. Make your gallery image so eye catching that it almost blinds the shopper!

If you sell a consumable item, or an item that people will need to buy again, be sure to put a label with your phone number or contact info so it’s easy to reorder. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought an item from an eBay seller (labels, toner, printer ink, envelopes, etc..) and I’ve been quite happy with it. Yet, when it came time to buy more, I couldn’t figure out who sold it to me. Copy what the check printing companies do. Figure a way to put a message about 2/3rds through the product usage with a message like “It’s time to reorder your widgets. Call 800-123-4567 today!” People are busy. If you sold them a great product at a great price, and you make it easy to reorder, then you’re setting yourself up for a great residual stream of income.

Well hopefully those hints will keep you busy. To succeed on eBay, you really need to think outside the box. Don’t go with the herd, or you’ll get trampled on.

FREEBIE FRIDAY - A Webinar On How To Make Money Using eBay Classified Ads.

For the past year, I have been quietly and secretly working with eBay classified ads.

I have figured multiple ways of using these to make a residual income stream on eBay, and build a scalable business.

In January, I will be giving a private webinar, explaining the process, and showing the results of my experiments.

If you would like to make money on eBay without dealing with physical product, then you’ll want to check this out.

What’s a Webinar?

It’s when we’ll be tied in both by phone and computer screen. I’ll be showing you a presentation to explain all about making residual income from classifed ads.

Here’s the problem. The technology only allows 100 attendees, so seats will go fast.

Since the webinar will be free, I’m expecting it to fill up REAL FAST!

Could you please leave a comment in the area below?

Camtasia Studio is one of the most important software tools that I use. It is a popular screen capture and recording tools that can record desktop screen to create, edit and publish training, demo or presentation videos. Now you have a chance to download, install and use Camtasia Studio for free forever legally. Thanks to a promotion on the latest Camtasia Studio 5 by TechSmith (maker of Camtasia Studio) and UK based PC Plus Magazine December issue, theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re giving away Camtasia Studio 3 for free, complete with license and serial number or product key.

Video is one of the best, fastest, and easiest ways to explain or teach something.

If you have a business, then you’ll love using Camtasia. Take any computer based job that needs to be done, and record it and save it. If you’re like me, you have different jobs that need to be done on an irregular basis. Perhaps you don’t do the job often enough to remember all the steps and details. (It’s tough getting senile!) Why remember or spend forever typing up a written procedure when you can just record the screen along with audio instructions.

You can simplify the most complex job by recording a video of the step by step on how to accomplish it. If you will be sharing the videos with others in your office, create a shared folder (I call ours “Common Procedures”), and put links to each video there.

Click here to fill in your name, country and email address in Camtasia Studio Software Key Registration page. NOTE, Although it says for UK only, I put in my real address in Massachusetts, USA and I received a serial key.

Click on Send Me a Software Key button when done.

Install the camtasiaf.exe setup file that you downloaded in Step 1.

Check your inbox for a free software serial key to unlock Camtasia Studio and remove the trial expiry. You will now using full version and fully working version of Camtasia Studio 3, which you can use as long as possible.

Although Camtasia Studio 3.1.3 is the older version of software, but itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s still feature rich and will likely fulfill all your need in screen capturing, sound recording need and editing need. Version 5 only add Ã¢â‚¬ËœfloweryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ feature such publish videos and MP3 files for portable media players, publish in Flash and support narrated PowerPoints, multiple audio tracks, and webcam video.

Downloaders can upgrade to Camtasia Studio 5, the latest version of Camtasia Studio for just $149 USD, which is 50% discount off the full retail price $299 USD, saving you $150 USD.

I’ve had tons and tons of testimonials from those who have tried out AuctionTNT.com’s features, and they can’t stop raving about the brand-new version of FAME that allows you to build confidence in you as a seller.

A BIG time saver is the Announcement Maker, allowing you to make specific announcements on all your auctions, at the push of a button!

Now as today’s Freebie Friday, there is a free (Silver) membership to AuctionTNT.com.

But most spend just $1 to try all the capabilities that go along with the Platinum level - including all the free bonuses worth $413, too!

No doubt about it… excess competition on eBay is a big problem for many sellers.

Isn’t it incredibly frustrating when someone steals YOUR product idea and starts competing with you on eBay.

Pretty soon the battle begins to see who can sell it for the lowest price possible and make the least amount of profit!

Zoinks, that’s a lousy battle to get involved in.

Although it’s very frustrating when this happens, that’s business.

One mistake I see MANY eBay sellers make is including visitor counters in their auctions. You know what I mean, if you scroll to the bottom of many (if not most) auctions, you’ll see a counter like below:

It shows that this is a popular auction, having received over 400 hits.

Nice!!!

Let’s think about what this accomplishes both from a buyer’s and a competitive seller’s viewpoint.

Buyer’s Viewpoint

“I can care less how many people have viewed this page. I want to know how many people are bidding on this item, and how much the item’s price is.”

Competitive Seller’s Viewpoint

“Wow, there are a LOT of people interested in this item. I wonder if I can source this product and take away business from this poor sap who includes counters in his auction ads.”

Ouch! That hurts doesn’t it!?!

So I’ve been telling my members for ages to NOT use VISIBLE counters in your auction ads. (Invisible counters where only YOU see the number of visits ARE recommended)

It’s like showing off your fancy Rolex watch while walking down a dark alley. You’re just asking for the wrong person to notice and take it away.

So do yourself a favor and use INVISIBLE counters only, and check out my super sneaky idea!

Inspiration From The Stage

A few weeks ago I was speaking before an audience at a training bootcamp. In response to a question that someone asked about their being a lot of competition on eBay, I mentioned the sage advice from above to not use counters, when suddenly a crazy thought percolated to my lips and I said:

In fact… what would be a cool idea is to use a FAKE counter to throw off the competition.

Think about it.

The competition is checking out your auctions to see if you have any good ideas that he “borrow” from you. He comes across your auction for what seems like it would be a decent item to sell. Like any savvy seller, he scrolls to the bottom of your auction ad and sees this:

Chances are he’s going to think the item is a dog, and move on to someone else.

Hee Hee Hee… Ain’t that sneaky!

So, here is what you do.

Grab the following code and paste it right before the </body> tag at the very bottom of your auction ad. The competitor will search for the counter, while the buyer will not. So there is no sense in advertising that we “only had 2 visitors”

Do YOU know that the BEST possible product to sell on eBay (and the internet) is INFORMATION?

You have probably heard me repeat that over and over and over in my newsletter.

Have you ever wondered:

“Yes, But WHAT Kind Of Information Can I Sell On eBay?”

Students on a regular basis hire me (for BIG bucks) to brainstorm with them to come up with a marketable idea. They are delighted with the results, but with many tens of thousands of subscribers there is no possible way to personally do that for everyone.

But there IS another way to help YOU and EVERYONE reading this!

This 8 Minute Video will teach you:

How to find out what kind of information people are willing to pay $$$ for.

How to find this information and LEGALLY duplicate and SELL it OVER and OVER and OVER, while pocketing all the profits.

One of Russell’s techniques brought in massive profits that wouldn’t have been possible online. It’s extremelyeasy to do, yet hardly anyone’s doing it. (And you don’t have to worry about watching your profits circle down the drain when your autoresponder fries up)

P.S. Ask the big offline information mailing houses like Agora, Bottom Line, and Boardroom where the big bucks are made. These guys make the Clickbank screenshots of some of the “IM “gurus” look like peanuts.

When you return home after being gone for awhile, do you rush to the computer to check your email and see what you sold on eBay?

If you go away for the weekend, or are on vacation, do you get anxious to check your email?

A common trait I see with many eBay sellers is that they are afraid to be away from their email for too long. They are afraid that someone will email a question, and get mad when they don’t receive a reply soon enough and give the seller a NEGATIVE!

Ack… I don’t think you should worry that much, but that’s a topic for another day ;-) but today I’ll help you ease your addiction.

Well you’re going to learn about a FREE service that I give the double thumbs up to that should help ease your pain.

This service allows you to check your email using any web browser in the world, or even your cell phone!

There are many uses for this tool.

For example, recently, I’ve been getting nailed with SPAM to some of my very popular email addresses. I literally get HUNDREDS of emails each day to EACH address. Grrrrrr…

The problem is that while most are SPAM, some are valid emails.

Being tired of spending an hour a day going through Outlook sorting these out, I now use this tool and have someone else manually go through these emails deleting the bad stuff for me.

Do You Need To Access Your Computer While Away?

Another tool that I couldn’t live without allows me to access my entire computer while away from home using any browser in the world.

Sometimes, you need to access more than just email. This sweet tool allows me to control my entire PC from any web browser. You actually see your computer screen in the browser. It’s just like being there.